


Breakfast

by Aidaran, StarTravel



Series: Of Shark and Men [2]
Category: Constantine (TV), DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), Harley Quinn (Cartoon 2019)
Genre: Breakfast, Cooking, Developing Relationship, Domestic, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, John Constantine Needs A Hug, M/M, Sweet, sharkstantine, talking about feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:47:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24580288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aidaran/pseuds/Aidaran, https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarTravel/pseuds/StarTravel
Summary: Mornings are especially hard for Constantine. Lucky for him, they are not as lonely anymore.------------------Nanaue came out from the shower and into John's kitchen to find his ... boyfriend, was it? What were they? with a cigarette hanging between his lips and a glass of whiskey sitting in front of him. What was it, noon, to be already doing that?John gave him a small smirk, not letting go of the cigarette in his mouth. He stretched, legs on the table and tie a bit loose, already with his signature white shirt on hanging outside his pants in a careless manner. If he looked casual enough, maybe Nanaue wouldn’t notice how sometimes his hands shook a bit too much in the morning. "Mornin', luv.""Isn't it a bit too early for... that? I could prepare us cereal, maybe coffee?""Never too early for a shot of whiskey. Besides, half the time I get home with the sun anyway. This was just a slow week, you’ll see. Never here more than I have to be, me."
Relationships: John Constantine/King Shark, John Constantine/Nanaue Sha'ark
Series: Of Shark and Men [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1764463
Comments: 12
Kudos: 117





	Breakfast

Nanaue came out from the shower and into John's kitchen to find his ...  _ boyfriend, was it? What were they? _ with a cigarette hanging between his lips and a glass of whiskey sitting in front of him. What was it, noon, to be already doing that? 

John gave him a small smirk, not letting go of the cigarette in his mouth. He stretched, legs on the table and tie a bit loose, already with his signature white shirt on hanging outside his pants in a careless manner. If he looked casual enough, maybe Nanaue wouldn’t notice how sometimes his hands shook a bit too much in the morning. "Mornin', luv."

"Isn't it a bit too early for... that? I could prepare us cereal, maybe coffee?"

He wondered if it was too early to be addressing that, too. They had only been only together for a couple weeks, although he already seemed to wake up more often at John’s side than in his own bed. They’ve always parted ways a bit before breakfast until that morning, though, so he had no idea what to expect. Maybe the cloudy and cold day outside had been a feeble excuse for him to stay, but then John had agreed to it far too quickly, as if he had been wondering how to keep him around a bit more as well.

"Never too early for a shot of whiskey. Besides, half the time I get home with the sun anyway. This was just a slow week, you’ll see. Never here more than I have to be, me."

"Still, we could maybe try something a bit healthier, don't you think? I myself try to be a vegetarian most of the time and I feel better than before. You could at least... drink a bit later?"

Nanaue really liked how John didn’t give him a strange look at things like that. He’d gotten everything from scoffs to incredulous looks at the idea of a mostly shark man refusing to eat meat. John, instead, just... just took it as something as normal as him knitting. All of him seemed to be normal in the human’s eyes, and it was something he was not used to receiving outside of his little crew of misfits.

"I... all right, if it bothers you." John sighed as he set the drink aside and put off the cigarette. He looked a bit anxious about it. Usually he drank in the morning to drive his nightmares away, circles under his eyes and a slightly nervous energy to him. He’d tried to refrain from doing it in front of his new companion most of the time they were together, but the anxiety was getting the worst of him today. Some mornings were a bit harder than others.

"It's not that it bothers me. I am concerned. I care." Nanaue took his hands between his. John truly looked small compared to him, and in the mornings he also looked surprisingly frail, with his dark circles around his eyes and none of that cocky energy that made him seem taller than he actually was. "You can talk with me, you know."

"I just... I have... nightmares. Inner demons and all that. Not as much fun as the outer ones." John admitted as he held onto Nanaue's hands, giving him a small, almost sheepish smile. He wasn't the best at being vulnerable. Not when not being vulnerable was the only thing that kept him from dying so many times. Not when being vulnerable meant risking rejection, fear, hatred. He couldn’t bear another pair of eyes looking at him with contempt.

"I imagined you had. You toss and scream at night all the time."

John winced a bit, running one of his hands through his hair. He reached for his cigarette before remembering he had already put it out. "Sorry about that, didn’ realize I was such a bad company in bed. It was Gaz this time. I... I keep seeing him lately."

"Why are you apologizing? You know I don't get mad." He gave him his kindest smile, brushing his cheek with his fingers with a softness the man was not used to receiving. How a shark look like the sweetest person in the world, John had no idea, but the fact that he found him endearing instead of just attractive was nothing short of terrifying. "We can talk about it if you want."

"Just... I know it's my fault he ended up dying. It was too much for him, he couldn’t handle it. I knew he was weak, he’d wreck his mind and still I dragged him around until it was too much, too... If I hadn't introduced him to the idea magic was real..."

"Never blame yourself for opening someone's mind to the possibilities. It's up to everybody what they do with knowledge. Just look at Harley. She's carving a path of her own. She refused to follow the path that other people wanted her to, she’s walking her own."

"Yeah, one that's probably gonna end with me fighting her in 1912." John let out a low chuckle, shaking his head a bit. John looked down at the table, not adding that he hoped King Shark wouldn’t show up to that particular fight. "He was... Gaz couldn't handle it. I should've known."

"And it will be a lovely fight and I'll cheer for both of you, even wear a shirt with both your names on it if you want. You can't just carry the weight of other people's shortcomings. Come, I'll make you a nice breakfast." 

Nanaue walked John by the hand to the kitchen as if he was a small and confused thing, and put a pink apron as he started to search for food in the cabinets. It was so empty he considered next time a heist went right he'd be the one in charge of grocery shopping. It seemed... domestic, even if it was too soon to be making plans like that. Maybe he was rushing, but the idea of filling the pantry, hiding some sweets for John to find instead of alcohol, using that kitchen to make something tasty instead of leaving it full of cobwebs, it made him happy.

Finally Nanaue found something that looked like food and decided to take his chances with it. It was a better breakfast than whiskey and smokes anyway. 

"I don't think I'd be able to handle magic, which means I wouldn't. Knowing yourself is important too." He stared at the pots, wondering when the last time they were washed was, if ever.

John gestured at the eggs he had in the fridge. He was pretty sure they were still good and actually from a chicken for once. He gave him a small smile, relief flooding across his expression. John wanted to keep Nanaue away from that part of his life as much as he could, even if Nanaue had already stuck a fin in that world thanks to Harley. “Good. You’re too nice for magic. It’d eat you up.”

"I know. And I'm smart enough to know what things to get away from, although I admit my team got me in prison a couple times." He opened the eggs and started to prepare an omelette. He hadn't had an opportunity to show off how good of a chef he was yet, and it wasn’t as if his team would appreciate good food anyway. He’d hoped he’d find someone who’d be willing to be fed and pampered for years, so he was not ready to let this opportunity pass.

“Yes, hard to believe that the police thought you actually did anything.” John’s tone was so genuine that Nanaue had to choke down a laugh. What kind of person did John think he was, and what kind of people did he think he spent time with? John looked up, shaking his head a little and smiling, misunderstanding what the other man found so amusing. “Right, Shark. Forgot how narrow-minded some people are. Prejudice and all tha’.”

"And that bit about narrow mindedness includes you, sometimes. You like to feel guilty too much."

“Now you’re sounding like Chas or Zari. I’m only guilty for the things that are my fault.” He assured him with a quick grin as he poured them both a cup of tea. He added a dash of honey to his own and a bit of milk to Nanaue’s cup. He couldn’t remember the last time he had a real breakfast. Maybe in New Orleans, with Desmond. Yes, that was the last time he allowed himself to eat healthy in the company of a good person.

"Maybe they’re right. If so many people say the same thing it might be because it's true." Granted, people said he was just a monstrous shark all the time, but still, in the case of John there was some truth to it. He seemed to not be as large as the legends of his badassery made him sound. Just a fragile human, feeling as if the weight of the world was on him and too stubborn to admit he might need help carrying it sometimes.

“That, or you’re all so blinded by my charm and good looks you don’t know a lost cause when it’s in front of you.”

"That too. But if you don't get some real food your good looks will go away."

John looked at his figure and finally nodded. Yes, certainly he’d gotten worse in the last two years. “Hmm, maybe. Can’t get much scrawnier.”

"Then let me fatten you up."

John prepared the table, and noticed he hadn’t even used the cutlery in a long time. And it wasn’t just because he spent too much time on the Waverider. It was because he had forgotten what eating something good was like. “Wouldn’t say no to eggs that smell that good.”

"We can even go outside and walk without you smoking, what do you think? The sky seems to be getting clearer." Nanaue was still a bit weary of being seen in England, no crew or heist, no mission or plot, just them. But still, it seemed like a nice idea. Trying to be a normal couple for some moments when neither of them were normal.

“I... all right. I’ll leave my smokes here. We can go to the gardens up a block. They’re nice this time of day.”

"We can even go shopping." Nanaue smiled hopefully, glancing around at the bare bones house. The only things around were John’s oddities, but nothing to make it comfortable for him. "I've been having a good streak at my job."

“Oh, good. I’ve got a bit of pocket money too — last exorcism went well. I can buy you somethin’ nice.”

"Then it can be a date, don't you think?" 

And Nanaue's smile was so wide John couldn't really remember why that would be a bad idea, for once.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are love! we're having a blast with this little series, and in fact have several more stories on their way.


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